U Is For Upside-Down Cake, You Know

April 25, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 37 Comments

Piece of [upside-down] cake

… is my modified version of a slang saying that means something is easy to do. Not tricky at all.

I’ve added “upside-down” to this saying because I have nothing for the letter “U” within my theme of Food: Talking The Talk.

I guess you could say that finding something to post for the letter “U” … [wait for it]… has not been a piece of cake.

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In fact, if I might, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you, my gentle readers, that this challenge has been, like I suspected, a great deal of work.

I’m not complaining, mind you, but I want to be clear that for me doing this challenge with a theme, as per the guideline suggestions, takes more effort than merely showing up to my blog each day– and writing something.

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My only regret is that I can’t visit + comment on more A To Z Challenge bloggers’ blogs. Each day my stats page shows me that people from around the world have visited The Spectacled Bean, many of them leaving comments or liking what I wrote.

But instead of having the time to return all the visits, here I sit at my desk each morning writing, researching, writing, adding links, writing, editing, writing, adding images, writing.

Just saying. No disrespect intended.

N Is For Nuts, Please Note

April 16, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 32 Comments

Nuttier than a squirrel’s pantry

… is a way to say someone is crazy, while not saying directly that someone is crazy. It’s a cute turn of phrase, correct in the right context. ‘Ya know?

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THE OTHER MORNING I was looking out into the forest behind our house, admiring the color green, when I noticed that Fuzzy the Squirrel was on the ground, up to something.

He rarely allows his little paws to touch the ground, preferring to stay above it all in the trees… or in our gutters… or on our deck. I was intrigued.

I’D BEEN THINKING ABOUT the origins of the saying, nuttier than a squirrel’s pantry, all morning. So when I saw Fuzzy, in a flash of inspiration, I decided to ask him if he could explain the meaning of this saying, from his point of view.

Straight from the squirrel’s mouth, so to speak.

WELL, MY GENTLE READERS, I was not prepared for what our favorite squirrel had to say. But I give him credit, he told it like it is. He didn’t mince words, nor did he spare my feelings.

YOU SEE, COME TO FIND OUT, from a squirrel’s perspective, this seemingly innocent and silly human saying, is offensive and disparaging.

Squirrels take it personally, looking down upon us humans who say it. To them, this saying is animalist. Decidedly not PC.

And inaccurate, as Fuzzy was quick to point out before he scampered away. “Lady, we got more than nuts in our pantries. We got seeds and leaves– and sometimes a good old-fashioned purloined tomato from your very own pots of veggies.”

Thus he confirmed that: 1) he did steal those tomatoes years ago; and 2) that squirrels might not be as nutty as we humans think they are.

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K Is For Klondike Bar, Kinda Clever

April 13, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 49 Comments

“What would you do for a Klondike bar?”

These lyrics are from a TV commercial jingle that is embedded in my brain. Permanently.

Yours, too?

In fact, when I started musing on the letter “K” for this challenge, the first thing that came to my mind was Klondike Bar, which got me thinking about how I know many TV commercial jingles from memory.

You, too?

It’s annoying, yet hilarious, to realize that instead of keeping track of important adult stuff, my old brain chooses to retain a weird assortment of lyrics and tunes, learned in my childhood while watching the idiot box [aka the TV].

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• I’m sure this realization would upset me more, if I wasn’t so darned happy when singing the Oscar Mayer Bologna Song.

“My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R…”

• OR awkwardly singing and dancing along to the Dr. Pepper commercial.

“Us peppers are an interesting breed, an original taste is what we need… Be a Pepper…”

• OR belting out a soulful rendition of the Enjoli perfume commercial.

“I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget that you’re a man… ‘Cause I’m a woman…”

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All of which brings me to this very important question:

How many TV commercial jingles do you, my gentle readers, remember by heart? You may confess in the comments below.

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I Is For Ice Cream, I Do Believe

April 11, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 54 Comments

“I scream, You scream, We all scream for ice cream.”

This is what my Dad used to say, kind of like he was casting a spell, when we as a family would get in the car to go get ice cream cones at the local dairy.

This was big deal back then in my small town.

There were no stores open 24/7. All we had were a few dairies in town, each featuring a rotating list of flavors, that sold ice cream cones, during limited hours of operation.

I never knew why he said what he said. But a fast googling tells me that this saying is part of the lyrics to a ~~dreadful~~ 1920s novelty song of the same name. The ~~stupid~~ lyrics are whacked, making references to Alaska and Eskimos; the ~~irritating~~ tune is a fox trot.

How he ever came to know this song I couldn’t say. But like most of the food sayings I’ve talked about so far, they just get into your brain and never leave.